Santa Monica, CA - July 31, 2006 -- Named the greatest college coach of the 20th century by an ESPN panel of experts, John Wooden was also a master teacher whose skills are now recognized as key to student achievement, according to Ronald Gallimore, Chief Scientist for the LessonLab Research Institute, the independent research arm of Pearson Achievement Solutions.

Gallimore will be discussing the relevance of Wooden's work to today's teachers and professional development practices as part of "You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned," his keynote speech to the Florida Statewide Teacher Education Conference. Adapted from You Haven't Talked Until They Have Learned: John Wooden's Teaching Principles and Practices, which Gallimore co-authored with Swen Nater, the speech will take place on August 3rd at 8:30 a.m. at Central Florida Community College in Ocala, FL.

John Wooden considered himself a teacher, not just a coach, and his UCLA teams dominated college basketball in the 1960s and early 1970s. He believed that the fundamental principles of teaching were the same both in classrooms and on practice courts, and the methods he pioneered converge remarkably with contemporary research findings, according to Gallimore.

Using research examples to support his findings, as well as short video clips of interviews with Wooden, Gallimore will show that teachers increase student learning when they frequently assess student work and performance; plan ahead; prepare instruction that addresses anticipated struggles; know a subject well, so they can make it understandable to learners; prepare students to solve the unexpected as well as the expected; and view their classrooms as professional learning communities for themselves, not just as education centers for their students.

"Wooden demonstrated that student learning and achievement are not the results of wizardry," said Gallimore. "Instead, they are the products of research, planning, continuous improvement, subject mastery, effective pedagogy, and the intangible example of a dedicated teacher."

About LessonLab Research Institute (LLRI)

LLRI, the independent research arm of Pearson Achievement Solutions, engages in a variety of research projects, focused on teaching and improvement of teaching. Current projects are focused on science and mathematics teaching and are funded by the U.S. Department of Education Institute for Education Sciences and the National Science Foundation. All projects are designed and conducted by LessonLab's research scientists, in collaboration with researchers around the globe.

About Pearson Achievement Solutions

Created by the merger of LessonLab and Co-nect, Pearson Achievement Solutions works with school districts to implement long-term, sustainable professional development programs that address core issues including district and school improvement, data driven decision-making, enhancing instruction in content areas, and teacher professional growth. For further information, visit www.pearsonachievementsolutions.com.

About Pearson Education

Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education (www.pearsoned.com) is the global leader in educational publishing, providing scientifically research-based print and digital programs to help students of all ages learn at their own pace, in their own way. Virtually all students in America learn from a Pearson program at some point in their educational career. The company is home to such renowned publishing brands as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, Pearson Scott Foresman, Pearson Early Learning, Pearson Learning Group, Pearson Digital Learning, and Pearson Addison Wesley. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the international media company. In addition to Pearson Education, Pearson's primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.